Underneath It All (Storm Series)

by Carr, Cassandra

  Rick grabbed her then dipped her, pretending to kiss her, and she squealed.

  “Hands off my woman,” Rob warned, and Rick slowly let her up.

  She’d nearly gone ass over teakettle, considering her weight compared to Rick’s, but as soon as she was upright, Rob reached out with his good hand and tucked her into his chest. Why did that simple gesture tickle her so much? Was Rob serious? He’d sounded it.

  Sarah, rolling her eyes at the lot of them, said, “I’ll take that into the kitchen. And hide the smaller containers until they’ve done their jobs around here.”

  “Meanie,” Jordan said to her back as she left the room.

  Sarah gave him a one-fingered salute and Alaina barked out a laugh. “Oh, I like her.”

  Rob burrowed his nose in her hair. “So did you bring me anything special?”

  Alaina turned partially toward him and whispered in his ear, “Yes, but I wrapped your present. In clothes.”

  He groaned. “Sure you don’t want to, you know,” he jerked his head toward the hallway, “decorate my room with me?”

  “Later, hon.” Stepping away, she asked Sebastian, who was struggling to attach an impressive swag of elaborate greenery to Rob’s mantle, “How can I help?”

  “Holding the other end of this monster would be a big help, thank you.”

  “I can do that.”

  As she and Seb struggled, Rob remained close for a couple of minutes until she pivoted and said, “You’re hovering and making me nervous. Go eat a cookie. I don’t want you hurting yourself when there are lots of guys around.”

  “You’ll watch her?” Rob asked Sebastian, who merely raised an eyebrow.

  “Watch me?” She swatted at his belly. “You’re lucky you’re injured.”

  “I’m possessive.” Jordan doubled over in laughter, and Rob shot him a dark look. “I trust her. I don’t trust you guys.”

  “I can take care of myself,” Alaina interjected. “They don’t scare me.”

  Rick deadpanned, “If Rob doesn’t scare you, no one will.”

  With an exaggerated shake of his head, Rob wandered into the kitchen, muttering about respect in his own home. When next he returned, he had a cookie in his mouth, but no compunction about speaking around it. “Great cookies, babe.”

  “Thanks.” If she didn’t know the other sides of Rob, she wouldn’t be sure what to make of this current mood, but she’d learned weeks ago that Rob was definitely a man of many facets.

  Jordan happened by with three. Of course, he was skinny as a beanpole and could probably use the extra calories. “Great cookies, babe.” When Rob growled, he smirked then slunk away, chuckling.

  Alaina ignored Jordan’s antics. She’d only met him a few times and had already pegged him. Paying attention to the man would only encourage him. At times she was amazed how much she had to use skills learned in her kindergarten class when dealing with adults.

  Over the next couple of hours, she helped out wherever she could, but it was obvious Sarah was in charge, which was fine with Alaina. None of these guys knew her well, and she wouldn’t have felt comfortable asking them to do things. Sebastian was right in his description of how things would go. Rob was watching the proceedings, and she could tell, every now and then he was holding his tongue, obviously wanting to correct something his teammate was doing. She felt sorry for him—he must have been going nuts, feeling so useless.

  Making her way over, she motioned for him to join her on the couch. The guys were finishing things up and putting the dozens of boxes back in his basement. When they were alone for a moment, she leaned over and kissed him.

  Rob groaned into her mouth. Pulling back, his pupils blown with lust, he asked, “So when are all these guys leaving?”

  “Soon, from the looks of things.”

  “Not that I don’t appreciate them, I do,” his voice cracked on the last word and Alaina caressed his face. “But I want you. Preferably naked.”

  “Didn’t need to hear that,” Sebastian retorted as he breezed into the room.

  Rob snorted. “Oh come on, dude. With some of the stuff I had to endure last year, I may never recover.” He mock shuddered, and Sebastian smiled.

  The other guys shortly followed behind Sebastian, and Alaina did a quick count and was thankful she’d brought enough containers for every guy to take one home. The supply she’d brought over had been decimated, and she found she liked taking care of the guys in her own small way, by providing something all the money in the world couldn’t—a little sense of home and holiday. She could see why Sarah loved having them over and cooking for them. They were an appreciative bunch.

  Each man filed out the door, most stopping to give her an awkward hug, which, rather than making her uncomfortable, actually charmed her. Sebastian and Sarah were the last to leave, and Rob hugged both of them tightly. He was fighting tears, and when Sarah told him they loved him, one escaped. Rob swiped at it and nodded, and the two friends took that as their cue to leave. Both hugged Alaina on the way out, and finally, she closed the door behind them.

  “How about a massage?” Hopefully he’ll relax then.

  Rob’s clouded expression from the emotional good-byes had eased, and at her suggestion his eyebrows rose. “Shouldn’t I be giving you one? I sat on my ass while you guys did all the work.”

  “I want to. Besides, I’ll have an excuse to get you shirtless.”

  “Say the word and I’ll be completely clothesless.”

  There is merit to that idea…. When did I become a sex fiend? “How about we start with the shirt? Are you able to have your sling off for something like this? I know you sleep without it, but I don’t want to do anything to bother your shoulder, and I’ll stay away from the whole area—”

  “Baby, I’ll be fine. Yes, I can take the sling off. My shoulder is still sore, but it’s been almost a month since the surgery.”

  “Okay. I don’t want to hurt you.”

  “You won’t. Like you said, avoid that corner of my back and the shoulder itself and you should be fine. I feel bad, though. You worked your ass off already.”

  Alaina made a show of checking behind her. “Nope, still there, much to my chagrin.”

  “I love your ass.” He palmed one round globe and squeezed. “Yep, all good.”

  With a chuckle, she led him to his bedroom, where she helped him remove first the sling then his shirt. He also stripped to his boxers, but left those on. He’d had arthroscopic surgery, so only three, small, mostly healed incisions were visible, but the whole thing probably hurt more than Rob admitted. He settled on the bed on his belly and propped a thin pillow underneath his injured shoulder.

  She straddled his powerful thighs, getting a good look at his well-muscled behind. Not that she’d ever admit anything, even under penalty of a tickle torture, but Alaina had noticed all the guys on the team had great butts. It was hard not to look—like men and their fascination with boobs. When she started at the small of his back and rubbed toward the ribs, a groan issued from him, and she hesitated.

  “Oh God, don’t stop. That feels so good.”

  Continuing the massage, she scooted back and pushed at the muscles leading down to that glorious bubble butt. Rob was making encouraging noises and Alaina grinned to herself. She liked being here with him after having decorated his house for the holidays. Alaina had a three-foot tree she put on her kitchen table, pushed toward the back, and a few other decorations, but Rob…wow. His extensive holiday collection of adornments was pretty impressive and must have cost a goodly amount. Somewhere Martha Stewart was doing a fist pump.

  After a short time rubbing up to his ribs—she wasn’t taking a chance going any higher—Alaina moved down again then started on his legs. She’d never seen a person, man or woman, with so many muscles. It was actually possible to discern each individually. Much as it awed her, it was also a major turn-on. Alaina felt safe in his arms.

  “You’re a goddess.”

  “Hardly.”

&
nbsp; Rob twisted his head and regarded her. “You are. I can’t believe you baked all those cookies. You now have friends for life, and when the other guys hear about what they missed out on, they’re gonna be sorry.” He relaxed for a moment but then asked, “So how did this happen? I assume Sarah and Sebastian were the ring leaders, as usual.”

  “Yeah. Sebastian called me a couple of days ago and said he and Sarah were organizing this get-together. As soon as he mentioned Friday, I was in. I didn’t tell him about the cookies. In fact, I hadn’t decided to make them until yesterday during school. See, I do up little batches of cookies every year for my kids. A lot of the families don’t have extra food money to blow on stuff like that. But I usually wait another week or two. Yesterday I decided to do the whole thing.”

  “How many kinds did you make? I saw at least five or six.”

  “Eight.”

  “And how many of each one?”

  “Eight dozen.”

  Rob rose onto his good elbow and twisted toward her. “Eight dozen of eight different kinds of cookies? Good God, woman.”

  Alaina laughed. “You should see the awful mess in my kitchen.”

  “I can imagine. Man, I wish I had been able to help. Even one-handed, I would’ve done the dishes. That was really, totally above and beyond the call of duty. You amaze me.”

  A blush crept from her chest up her neck and onto her face. Shrugging, she said, “I know a lot of the players can’t get home, and I figured one of the things they might miss most are Christmas cookies. There’s no substitute for homemade Christmas cookies.”

  “Come ‘ere.”

  “I don’t want to—”

  “Come. Here.”

  Slowly lowering herself on top of him, Alaina carefully placed a hand to the side of his ribs, underneath his shoulder, to support her body weight. All those good intentions nearly flew out the window, though, when Rob took her mouth. Before they got carried away, Alaina slid down to the mattress and said, “I hate to be a stick in the mud, but I could use a good night of sleep. Can we pick this up later?”

  Rob barked out a laugh, but she wasn’t at all sure it was genuine. Nonetheless, he didn’t argue. “Of course. Go to sleep, babe.”

  They settled into bed and Alaina soon fell asleep, comforted by the presence of Rob’s warm body next to hers.

  She didn’t wake up at all until Rob stirred, which was unusual for her since she was a light sleeper. Raising her head from the pillow, she focused bleary eyes on the alarm clock. Wow. Nearly ten o’clock. She’d slept for eleven straight hours. As Alaina rolled away from the clock, one of Rob’s eyes cracked open.

  Smiling, she said, “Good morning, sunshine.”

  “Who ordered all this daylight crap?”

  Alaina laughed. “We slept for eleven hours, Rob. That’s why you see light outside.”

  “Really?” He raised his head to look over at the same alarm clock she’d recently checked, as if he didn’t believe her ability to tell time. “Apparently not having sex tired me right out.”

  “Poor Rob.”

  “I agree. Wanna make me feel better?”

  “Maybe in a bit. I’d like to take a shower first and maybe some food.” She rose, stretching her arms high over her head.

  “Fine,” he grumbled, rolling back over.

  “Do not go back to sleep if you want any chance of fun when I get out.”

  “Spoilsport.”

  “Don’t you have to go to PT or something?”

  “Not on the weekends. Now the bed is cold.”

  “I’ve been gone less than thirty seconds. Deal with it.” Trudging to the living room, she grabbed the small bag she’d had enough foresight to pack, but halfway down the hall she stopped. Should she use the main bathroom or the one off his bedroom?

  Alaina assumed all his stuff was in that one, and she didn’t want to be occupying it so he couldn’t take his own shower. With the decision done, she went into the larger bathroom and began to unpack the things she’d need. She turned on the water, reveling in how quickly it got hot. Hers took forever in the morning. There was a knock and she opened the door to reveal Rob, standing in his boxers.

  “What’re you in here for?”

  “I didn’t want to take up your bathroom, you know, in case you wanted to take a shower too.”

  “Are you implying I need one?” He was smiling, but her brain was sluggish and she couldn’t be sure that was good-natured sarcasm.

  “Of course not.”

  “And how am I supposed to put the moves on you when you’re way out here?”

  Leaning against the door jamb, she asked, “Are you really upset that we didn’t have sex last night?”

  “No, babe. I’m fine. Pullin’ your chain. I’m not seventeen anymore. I can control my primal urges.” He leaned in and kissed her forehead. “Have a good shower. If I get out first, I’ll see what I have for breakfast.”

  She smiled. “Deal.”

  A half hour later, Alaina pulled her still-damp hair into a ponytail as she walked into the kitchen. Good thing she always kept a spare holder in her purse.

  Rob checked the time. “Not bad.”

  “I’m a pretty low-maintenance woman.”

  “I’ve noticed that. I’m a fan. I know you’re probably hungry, and I promise to feed you. But first you have to pay the toll.”

  “Toll? What is this alleged toll?”

  “A kiss.”

  Yeah, I’ll pay that toll all day. “Heh. You’re easy.”

  “Ask me for sex and find out how much,” Rob answered before claiming her lips.

  He let out a moan and Alaina swallowed the sound. He was in sweats and a T-shirt and she could feel him hardening against her belly as he pushed into her mouth as if he was checking to make sure she’d brushed thoroughly—which she had in preparation for such an event. As he licked into her mouth, she melted against him. How could she not? The man was walking sex. Finally he took mercy on her and gave her space to breathe.

  “Wow.”

  “I like that kind of reaction,” Rob said with a half-smile. “So for breakfast, we have cereal, eggs, or yogurt. Or some combination of the three.”

  “I’m fine with cereal.”

  “You should have some protein for breakfast too.”

  “Yes, Mr. Professional Athlete, though I will point out that I, in fact, am not someone who relies on my physical fitness.”

  “With fifteen kindergarteners you’d think you’d have to.”

  They each gathered their food and sat at his small table. Rob had one of those counter-height tables and she felt silly sitting with her feet swinging like a five-year-old. “I wish I was taller.”

  His face scrunched in confusion, Rob asked, “Why?”

  “This table makes me feel even shorter than I am.”

  “You’re the perfect height in my book.” Rob tilted his head to the side. “How much trouble would I get myself into if I offered to pay for the ingredients you used for the cookies?”

  She sighed. “I’m starting to get the feeling you won’t lay off this topic, so if you want to give me some money, sure. I just don’t want to fight.”

  Truthfully, she’d spent a lot on the cookies and could use the cash, but she hated Rob acting as her personal ATM machine. Especially with the holidays coming and her shopping not done, she needed to face reality and be grateful for his offer.

  “I don’t either, but consider it another donation for the kids.”

  “Even though two-thirds of those cookies went to your teammates?”

  “Like I said, a donation to the kids.” Rising, he grabbed his wallet from the kitchen counter. “Again, so I don’t insult you, give me a figure. But if you say something like ten dollars, I’m not liable for how I’ll force the truth out of you.”

  She could only imagine. “The ingredients cost around eighty dollars.”

  “Does that include the container thingies?”

  “Yes, I bought them at the same time.”r />
  Reaching into his wallet, he fished out four twenties and handed them to her. “I know you value your independence, and believe me, I can appreciate that. But I really wish, if you’re going to do stuff like make a bazillion cookies for my teammates, that you tell me so I can either help or pay for them at the very least. And if it’s for your students, I want to know too. Will you promise me that? I refuse to have my girlfriend struggling because of the generosity of her heart. This isn’t about control. I care about you and your welfare, which you have a nasty habit of putting behind everybody else’s.”

  Her heart lurched and her throat tightened. Parents and other staff sometimes talked about how nice she was, but Rob was the only man, hell, the only person, who had not only recognized her above-and-beyond efforts, but insisted on making sure she wasn’t acting at the expense of her own good.

  After swallowing thickly, Alaina cleared her throat. “Okay. I’ll keep you in the loop more. You’ve just been…distracted lately. I haven’t wanted to pry, but—”

  “You’re going to now?” He raised an eyebrow, and she shrugged. “I’m just having a little trouble with the whole being injured thing. This is the first time in my career that I’ve missed more than a handful of games. I feel disconnected from the team. I dunno how else to explain the feeling.”

  “You don’t have to,” she told him, running her fingers through his hair. “I can’t even imagine being in your position. Of course you’re experiencing some issues with depression.”

  “Yes, Miss Alaina.”

  “Sounded like a teacher again, I know.”

  “Thanks for your concern. I’ll be okay. My rehab is coming along well, and I’m hoping, maybe, I can play in early February.”

  “That soon? I thought you said you wouldn’t play ‘til late February at the earliest.”

  “I’ve been working hard.”

  “Oh, Rob, I hope you’re right, for your sake.” Hopping off the chair, she put her arms around his neck. “I’m really proud of you.”

  “Thanks, babe.” He kissed her briefly, and then they began to eat again.

  After they finished the dishes, she said, “I have a few hours before I need to go write lesson plans. What do you want to do?”